Teaming Up for the Hoosier Park All-Stakes Pick 4

Saturday’s racing card at Hoosier Park is one for the record
books. The racing program boasts 10 stakes with over $1.4 million in purse
money. The fields are full and loaded with graded stakes winners and talented
horses.

On the biggest day of the year for Indiana racing, Hoosier State of Mind teams up with Zipse at The Track to take down the 50 cent Premier
all stakes pick 4. I will be analyzing race 9 (Michael G. Schaefer
Mile) and race 11 (Indiana Oaks) while Scott Dick takes on race 10 (Mary Hulman George
Stakes) and race 12 (Indiana Derby.) And away we go ...

Race 9 - The Michael G. Schaefer Memorial Mile

On paper, it looks like the three favorites, Shadowbdancing,
Hoorayforhollywood, and Good Lord would be strictly the ones to beat in the
Schaefer Mile, but of course races are never run on paper. It’s easy to see a
scenario where all three are pressing a strong pace which could set things up
for a closer. Fast Alex has the look of a horse screaming out for a solid pace
to run at. He should get it, and hopefully a return to the good form he showed
earlier this season in New Orleans is in order. Along with my favorite of the
pace scenario horses, the razor sharp, Good Lord will be the two I use on both
Pick 4 tickets, while Hurricane Ike, (good at the distance, Hoosier, and an off
track) and Hoorayforhollywood, (possibly the fastest of all the speed) a will be included on the
other ticket. I’ll take a stand against the race highweight, Shadowbdancing,
who I do not expect to appreciate the pressured pace and shorter trip.

Race 10 – Mary Hulman George

Ellafitz looks to be the speed of the speed for the
combination of Bob Baffert and Rafael Bejarano but she hasn’t raced since May
19th. Even though she should
be the fastest horse out of the gate she won’t have an easy lead. She could
possibly see early pace pressure from Salty Strike and Brushed by a Star, Sweet
Lemon Chello and She’s Picky also look to show speed which could leave Juanita
sitting in the garden spot. I will use the favorite Ellafitz but I will also
use the super right Brushed by a Star who comes into Hoosier winning 3 out of
her last 4 with wins coming in the Iowa Distaff at Prairie Meadows and the
Molly Pitcher at Monmouth, her lone defeat was to some of the best older fillies
and mares in the country (Love and Pride, Royal Delta and It’s Tricky.) Finally, I will use last year’s Indiana Oaks winner Juanita who should sit a dream trip
for Hoosier Park leading jockey Leandro Goncalves.

Despite throwing in the towel pretty early in the Grade 1
Alabama Stakes, I still believe that Grace Hall is one of the best
three-year-old fillies in the nation and the class of the Indiana Oaks. The cut
down in distance from 10 furlongs to 8 ½ should be right up her alley, and I
would expect leading rider Ramon Dominguez to have her in a good stalking
position early and ready to pounce on the far turn. I will use her as a single
on one Pick 4 ticket, fully expecting her to win her third Oaks of the year. If
she does falter however, I will use the enigma that is Eden’s Moon as the most
likely to knock her off. Not the most consistent filly in the world, when she’s
on her game her speed can be very dangerous factor for a rider, Rafael Bejarano,
and a trainer, Bob Baffert, who are very comfortable shipping in to win big
stakes. I’ll also use long shot, Holiday Soiree, on the second ticket. After
two solid wins at Churchill and Indiana Downs this summer, she ran two deceptively
good races in losing efforts in the Gardenia and Charles Town Oaks in her last
two. She has speed to be in the race early, and as a daughter of Harlan’s
Holiday, out of an Include mare, I believe she may appreciate the added
distance in what will be the longest race of her career.

Baffert and Bejarano look to hold the keys to the engine
with Fed Biz in the Indiana Derby. The colt is lightly raced with loads of
talent and early speed. He showed a ton of courage in his first race off a long
lay-off when winning the El Cajon stakes at Delmar. He’s a son of Giant’s
Causeway so the 8.5 furlong distance should be to his liking.Tritap and Second City look to be the pair
that should pressure the Baffert colt early on. Second City broke in a tangle
in the BC Derby forcing him to close, his previous starts were all gate to wire
wins. O’Prado Again catches a brutally tough field to make his 3 year old debut
in, but the Dale Romans charge has been blazing the track up in the mornings in
preparation for his return to the races, he will need the race to fall apart up
front to have a shot. Neck N’ Neck draws a tough post position and loses his
regular jockey Leandro Goncalves to Bourbon Courage. Bourbon Courage has shown
an explosive turn of foot in his last two starts but will need some pace to run
into. Easter Gift draws the rail and comes in off a huge win in the Smarty
Jones stakes at Parx. The son of Hard Spun has proven he can run on an off track and a fast main track, if it rains it won't be an issue for Easter Gift. I will use Easter Gift along with Bourbon Courage and Fed
Biz to take home my pick 4.

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Brian has been a passionate fan of horse racing his entire life. Taken to the races at a very young age, he has been lucky enough to see all the greats in person from Secretariat, Forego, and Ruffian through Rachel Alexandra, Zenyatta, and American Pharoah. Before coming to the Nation, Brian displayed his love for the sport through the development of his horse racing website, which quickly became one of the most popular blogs in the game.

The Editor of Horse Racing Nation from 2010-2017, Brian authored a daily column as Zipse at the Track, or ZATT for short, and added his editorial flare to the overall content of the website. Now a Senior Writer for HRN, Brian continues to contribute his thoughts on racing, as well as co-hosting the popular racing show, HorseCenter. A big supporter of thoroughbred aftercare, he serves as the President of The Exceller Fund.

Brian's work has also been published on several leading industry sites. He has consulted for leading contest site Derby Wars, is both a Hall of Fame and NTRA poll voter, and is a Vox Populi committee member.

A horse owner and graduate of DePaul University, Brian lives just outside of Louisville with his wife Candice and daughter Kendra.